Movie Review Seven Pounds

Seven Pounds (2008) 

Directed by Gabriele Muccino 

Written by Grant Nieporte 

Starring Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Barry Pepper, Michael Ealy, Woody Harrelson 

Release Date December 19th, 2008

Published December 18th, 2008

It took me maybe 20 minutes into Seven Pounds before I figured out exactly where the plot of this Will Smith weepie was headed. Predictability often is an inescapable sin for mainstream filmmakers and I try to be understanding. In the case of Seven Pounds, director Gabrielle Mucchino must have realized he had a predictability problem because halfway through the movie the predictable 'mystery' portion of the movie falls to the background and a sweet well observed romance emerges.

Will Smith stars in Seven Pounds as Ben Thomas, an IRS Agent with a deep, dark secret. Ben did something that he feels he must atone for and thus sets out to change the lives of seven strangers. Using his IRS credentials, Ben identifies a few desperate souls and sets about stalking them to see if they are worthy of the massive favor he is going to do for them.

Along the way Ben meets  Emily (Rosario Dawson) , a heart patient desperately in need of a transplant. She also owes the IRS a ton of money. After observing her, Ben decides to help her and in the process he falls in love. Ah, but don't forget that deep dark secret that will have to be dealt with before you can even imagine finding some happy ending.

I won't spoil the secrets for you. It won't take you long to figure out the secret for yourself but it nevertheless is crucial to the story for the secret to remain a secret here. I can tell you that I found the secret implausible on top of being highly predictable.

Barry Pepper takes on the role of Ben's best friend Dan. He is crucial to Ben's plans but his motivation for doing the important things he does is terribly lacking. There is simply no logical basis for Dan doing what he does and his actions undermine the drama and what I am sure was supposed to be a mystery and a revelation.

The plot of Seven Pounds fails in its logic and underlying plausibility but it succeeds in creating good characters. Will Smith dials down the Big Willy charisma and in so doing crafts a quiet, gentle, graceful performance. He sparks tremendous chemistry with Rosario Dawson and their romance is the one element of Seven Pounds that really works.

If you are a BIG fan of Will Smith you might like Seven Pounds. If not, skip it.